Senior Officials' Meetings

On the 14th and 15th of November 2018, around 280 Senior Officials from across Europe and Africa met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The participants met to follow up on both the Joint Conclusions established during the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) in Malta last year, and the progress made under the five domains of the Joint Valletta Action Plan (JVAP), adopted at the Migration Summit in Malta in 2015.

The SOM gave an opportunity to all partners to reiterate the core principles of solidarity, partnership, and shared responsibility. The participants also expressed their commitment to respond decisively and to jointly manage migration flows in all their aspects. The meeting focused on the state of play of the JVAP, including analysis and suggestions for a way forward. The state of play was carried under the Khartoum and Rabat Processes which, as key dialogues, are mandated to monitor and report on the implementation and progress of the Joint Valletta Action Plan. Both regional dialogues have drafted analysis reports to report on progress at regional level, including analysis of the current situation of the different bilateral and European instruments contributing to the JVAP objectives. The meeting concluded with Joint Conclusions for the way forward for the JVAP.

About the implementation of initiatives and policies:

“Since 2017, the rhythm of implementation of initiatives and policies by the Rabat Process members has significantly accelerated. Progress was made with regards to the protection and assisted voluntary returns from Libya to countries of origin. The European Union adopted the concept of pilot projects in the field of legal migration, which now needs to be implemented. And the cooperation among the regional dialogues was reinforced, according to the Luxor Joint Conclusions, adopted in November 2017 by the Rabat Process, the Khartoum Process and the African Union-Horn of Africa Initiative."

- Rabat Process Individual Analysis Report 2018

About the way forward:

"But despite these advances, challenges related to migration and mobility persist. Thus, the Valletta Framework must remain a pragmatic, operational and flexible framework in order to adapt to various contexts, while being able to strengthen and articulate with other Frameworks and Dialogues.

In 2015, the main goal of our cooperation was to prevent the loss of life at sea and in the desert. In addition to this ongoing objective, we are increasingly focused on how to maximise the positive potential of migration and mobility, whilst always remembering the need for migrant protection from suffering, abuse and various forms of exploitation.”

- Rabat Process Individual Analysis Report 2018

The Rabat and Khartoum Processes members’ recommendations and Joint Conclusions are available for download below.

On the occasion of the SOM in Addis Ababa, an infographic was created to highlight the progress that has been achieved by the involved stakeholders since the JVAP was adopted. The infographic also provides up-to-date insights on the JVAP Database, which contains information about projects, programmes, legislations and policies in Africa and Europe, addressing the five thematic domains of the JVAP. The JVAP Database infographic is available for download on the Rabat Process and Khartoum Process websites.

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